Spurius Carvilius Maximus Ruga (died 212 BC) was
Roman consul
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
in 234 and 228 BC.
Spurius Carvilius Ruga
Spurius Carvilius Ruga ( fl. 230 BC) was the freedman of Spurius Carvilius Maximus Ruga. He is often credited with inventing the Latin letter G. His invention would have been quickly adopted in the Roman Republic, because the letter C was, at the ...
, the schoolteacher, was his
freedman
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
.
Consulships
The son of
Spurius Carvilius Maximus Spurius Carvilius C. f. C. n., later surnamed Maximus, was the first member of the plebeian ''gens Carvilia'' to obtain the consulship, which he held in 293 BC, and again in 272 BC.
Early career
Born of equestrian rank, Carvilius served as curule ...
, Carvilius was elected consul with
Lucius Postumius Albinus for the year 234 BC. He carried on war with the
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
ns, and then with the
Sardinians
The Sardinians, or Sards ( sc, Sardos or ; Italian and Sassarese: ''Sardi''; Gallurese: ''Saldi''), are a Romance language-speaking ethnic group native to Sardinia, from which the western Mediterranean island and autonomous region of Italy deri ...
, over whom he obtained a
triumph
The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
.
Carvilius was consul a second time in 228 BC with
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was ...
.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
reports that he did not object to the proposed agrarian law for dividing the lands of
Gallia Cisalpina
Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.
After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
, although Polybius stated that this law was passed four years earlier.
Later career
Following the disaster of the
Cannae, Carvilius noted the greatly diminished numbers of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and with note to the uncertain loyalty of Rome's
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
allies in the face of
Hannibal's invasion, he proposed that two senators should be elected from each of the Latin tribes, thereby filling many vacancies, and uniting the Roman state with her closest allies. This proposal was dismissed with the utmost indignation and contempt.
Carvilius was an
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
at the time of his death in 212 BC.
Divorce
Some sources relate that Carvilius was the first person at Rome to have divorced his wife, which he did on grounds of barrenness. His conduct in this matter was generally disapproved. However, it may be noted that the laws of the
Twelve Tables
The Laws of the Twelve Tables was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornblowe ...
provided for divorce more than two centuries before Carvilius.
['']Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...
'', William Smith, Editor
Footnotes
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvilius Maximus Ruga, Spurius
212 BC deaths
3rd-century BC Roman augurs
3rd-century BC Roman consuls
3rd-century BC Roman generals
Maximus Ruga, Spurius
Roman triumphators
Year of birth unknown